Health experts have revealed that a simple, low-calorie diet is the key to beating type 2 diabetes, improving the condition better than any prescribed medication.
Researchers from the Department of Radiology at Leiden University Medical Centre in the Netherlands found that cutting out calorific foods and eating healthier options for just four months is all diabetes sufferers need to do in order to beat their condition.
Researchers discovered that patients who ate a low-calorie diet for 16 weeks saw a dramatic improvement in their health and insulin use. Scientists are hoping that this could mean life-saving insulin would no longer been needed, as cardiac function would improve due to reduced amounts of dangerous fats around the heart.
"It is striking to see how a relatively simple intervention of a very low-calorie diet effectively cures Type 2 diabetes," says Dr Sebastian Hammer from the study. "Moreover, these effects are long term, illustrating the potential of this method. Lifestyle interventions may have more powerful beneficial cardiac effects than medication in these patients."
In the UK alone, 2.9 million people have diabetes, an increase of 130,000 since 2010. Type 2 diabetes accounts for 90% of diabetes cases. Scientists are hoping their findings, as simple as it sounds, will help treat diabetes sufferers and help reduce the need for insulin
If you're trying to cut down on the calories, be warned of the hidden traps lurking in seemingly healthy foods before you embark on your new diet plan: